Rather than using the 'Let's discuss the Rules' thread, I feel it might be appropriate for an official thread where you can discuss matters related to spinoffs, and also find out easily what's happening

So, I'll keep this first post updated with the schedule, and the latest happening with the NSC spinoff contests

The current rota for Spinoffs is:

...Well, it's all pretty flexible atm, as decided by the community But the general feeling is to keep the "recurring ones" going, but have plenty of new/repeat spinoffs in between each one.

And the schedule for upcoming spinoffs (with provisional dates) and [host country]:

Code:

Again, flexible, and now generally decided quite spontaneously!
Hosts are usually in demand, so if you fancy hosting a spinoff, do speak up!

Basic Information

Spinoff contests are smaller contests in the NSC world with a specific theme taking place aside from the main event. Most of the NSC rules continue to apply, with some exceptions relating to themes.
See also: Spinoff contests - Nation Song Contest

Some notable other rules:

* Spinoffs run alongside the main NSC event, and take place one after the other, following the rota (see above). Only one spinoff event can be held at a time.

* Spinoffs should last for approximately two weeks each; one week for confirmation of entries, and one week for the show and voting. They may last for one week only, if confirmation fills up within one or two days.

* The absolute maximum number of countries allowed to participate is now 32 (to accommodate the increased nations due to WL), except in cases of particularly popular spinoffs.

* Re-using NSC songs again in spinoffs is discouraged, but not forbidden.

* Likewise, re-using spinoff songs in the main NSC is discouraged but not forbidden.

* However, re-using songs that have already been in another spinoff is forbidden, except in cases of spinoffs where different criteria is judged. (this rule is kinda ignored though, oh well)

* Waiting list countries are more than welcome

* Please add to the thread if you can think of any more general rules :cheers

Specific Spinoffs

All Around The World (AATW)

This is a recurring spinoff, hosted by the winner of the previous AATW spinoff. The theme of this spinoff is a real-world country chosen by the host. All artists competing in this event must be from the chosen country. In the case of groups, the majority of people in the group must be from the country. The song can be in any language.

Oldies

This is a recurring spinoff, hosted by the winner of the previous Oldies spinoff. The theme of this spinoff is a time period chosen by the host. The different time periods that can be chosen vary in length. Most of the time periods are single decades, but very early time periods will be much broader, if chosen. All songs participating must have been released in the time period. Covers of such songs which themselves were released later are not allowed. Modified versions of the songs released later are also not allowed. However, the video entered can be from any time.

Eurovision Song Contest Spinoff (NSC ESC)

This is a recurring spinoff, hosted by the winner of the previous NSC ESC spinoff. The theme of this event is to enter a Eurovision song from any of the past Eurovision Song Contests. Once a song is entered, it cannot be entered again. Please refer here for a list of ESC songs already used in NSC ESC editions. The video submitted for this contest must be the live performance of the song at the contest, unless the video is not on youtube.

Eurovision National Finals Spinoff (NSC NF)

This is a recurring spinoff, hosted by the winner of the previous NSC NF spinoff. The theme of this event is to enter songs that took part (and didn't win) a country's national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. Once a song is entered, it cannot be entered again.

Themed Spinoffs

These are spinoffs which can be hosted by anyone, often the nation with the idea of the theme or the winner of the previous themed spinoff. For these spinoffs, all the participating entries must follow a specific theme set for the spinoff. The theme can either be related to the nature of the songs (e.g. Nonsense Theme, Different Language Theme) or the nature of the contest and voting (e.g. Mystery Theme, Congratulations). Rules for specific themes are detailed in the individual threads for these spinoffs.
The decision of the next theme can take place at anytime, and anyone can suggest an theme. Re-runs of past themes can take place only a year after its first run.
An exception to this is "Congratulations". Congratulations takes place after every ten NSC editions, and takes place within the spinoff schedule. However, the theme in Congratulations is to enter NSC songs submitted by your country in the last 10 editions as a celebration. More than 32 nations may take part.

If you feel I have missed of any important information regarding spinoffs, then please write it in the thread! :cheers
I will update this first post on a regular basis

NSC Mod

Hey hey!
I'm going to announce that a new schedule of spinoffs will be created soon.
And I will need your opinion to make the schedule most convenient and most suitable for everyone.

The question is about recurring spinoffs.

What is a recurring spinoff?
It's a spinoff which should happen regularly (for example after 2-3 other spinoffs), not depending on the polls.

At the moment recurring spinoffs are All Around The World (AATW), Oldies and Eurovision National Finals Spinoff (NSC NF).

But times have changed, and we thought that maybe you want some changes.
Nevertheless, if the majority wants to leave everything as it is, then it will be so.
But just in case, I want to know what you all think.

So, I'm asking you to pick 2 or 3 spinoff themes which you would like to see as recurring ones the most and post them in this thread.
Just your personal preference: in which spinoff would you like to take part most often of all?
I don't see any point in creating a poll, because there're quite a lot of themes.

- do not mention Congrats, NSC ESC and ESC Karaoke, as they are supposed to happen when the time comes.
- the list of all the spinoffs can be seen in the 1st post.
- if you have any questions regarding spin-off themes and rules - please feel free to ask me.

Once again, this survey is needed to make a clear schedule of the future spinoffs.The more opinions - the better!
Just in case, I'll mention everyone (+WL).

Active member

Way back in ancient history, the concept of a “recurring spinoff” was to differentiate them from unique themes that only happened “once”.

Of course, over time, the unique themes also would end up eventually being repeated, because people liked the idea and wanted to try it again.

Another key difference though between those recurring spinoffs and unique spinoffs is that recurring spinoffs would have a new theme each time to distinguish it, whereas unique themes would essentially be a repeat of the exact same theme.

There are exceptions of course, e.g. Melodic Picture or Unfair Host where the critical theme is different. But some are fundamentally exactly the same each time, e.g. Mystery.

Some used to be exactly the same each time, but eventually people came up with ways to vary the theme e.g. Languages 1, 2, 3 were the same concept but then Minority Languages put a twist into the original concept. This would be the best compromise in my opinion.

So, I would propose that the ideal recurring spinoffs are ideas that get repeated, but don’t just produce the same contest each time i.e. they still have their own unique theme. For this, AATW, Genre, Oldies all guaranteed a unique theme. So future recurring spinoffs should have the same idea of recurring but with a special new theme each time, imo.

...Of course, having said all that, the most important thing is to get spinoffs running regularly and popularly again. So maybe it would be good to establish that spinoffs happen regularly first, without minding which spinoff it is. And for that, the biggest hurdle is willing hosts.

Active member

In all honesty I just want Spinoffs to actually take place instead of simply discussing them.

Personally, I propose abolishing of time-consuming host duties (design-demanding banners, scoreboards per se) in order to respark the community interest.
Let's keep it plain and simple and just let the ball roll.

WorldVision Mod

At least this yes. We always seem to get to a point where no one cares enough to start a poll or wants to host, but still plenty take part. It would good if Spin offs could be a constantly recurring thing, or at least have some 'control' so we don't go months and months without any spin off at all.

---

As for this recurring spin offs, i dont mind either way. It's an alien concept to me, but considering how popular themes like AATW are i suppose it's a good thing.

NSC Mod

You should understand that I'm doing this survey in order to solve the issue of the spinoffs schedule for good and to avoid any confusion in the future.

If you don’t want any recurring spinoffs at all - say it, then they will be abolished, if the majority decides so.
I mean, AATW, Oldies and NSC NF will certainly be available, not as recurring spinoffs, but as regular ones, i.e. their hosting will be decided following the regular system (suggestions and then polls).
If you want to keep recurring spinoffs, say which ones you want to see as such.

P.S. in order not to waste time, you can simultaneously suggest themes for the next spinoff (#146).But please don't forget to speak out on the issue of recurring spinoffs anyway! I can't make any decision without your opinions!

Active member

I'm with Ashley here, if they are popular we should do regular editions every now and then otherwise they will always win in the regular polls. Among these so called recurring spin-offs, AATW is the one that interests me the most. Genres and Covers/Remixes would be cool too, if they count in this category.

As for #146, I'm still going on with my stupid idea Languageception : the entry must be sung in neither English nor in the mother language of the artist.
I had another one not so long ago, but forgot it. I'll come back again if memory strickes back.

And in case he doesn't see this post or changes his mind, I'm throwing in @tuorem's ideas that I liked :

Well-known member

Personally, I propose abolishing of time-consuming host duties (design-demanding banners, scoreboards per se) in order to respark the community interest.
Let's keep it plain and simple and just let the ball roll.

Personally, I like when there's *something*. I'm not in NSC just to listen through a playlist. A weekly generated Spotify playlist woud suffice for that. It's all the other little things that make the game. And a good show doesn't have to be design demanding if it's creative in any way. Rather than hire professional graphic designer, you can use screencaps from the Simpsons and everyone will like it. Or even simple yet effective, to-the-point, thematic graphics do the job just fine, like last AATW.

Anyway, I suggest Genres, as always
And Effifestivalen

Alternative voting system (the host invents a new creative voting system)Comfort zone (you send a song that best fits your overall taste in music) - there was once a spinoff opposite of that

Well-known member

Oh, and one more really stupid idea I just had that I really like:Nothing spinoff (we're not sending any songs, but we're having a show, voting and results as normal; we might even do a live listening)

NSC Mod

Like Ashley said, I think re-establishing the recurring spinoffs will help a great deal in getting spinoffs running regularly again. It reduces the need for time-consuming suggestions threads and polls, which I can see the community getting tired of soon. Having a spinoff schedule also reduces the dead time between spinoffs, which can sometimes be quite long, depending on people's motivation.

I would propose that the ideal recurring spinoffs are ideas that get repeated, but don’t just produce the same contest each time i.e. they still have their own unique theme. For this, AATW, Genre, Oldies all guaranteed a unique theme. So future recurring spinoffs should have the same idea of recurring but with a special new theme each time, imo.

Agreed. I think we've more or less exhausted all the decades for Oldies by this point, so technically we would be producing the same contest if that were to become a recurring spinoff again. However, I would be in favour of cycling through them all again. Same goes for Genres.

Well-known member

Personally I don't think the issue is with hosting duties so much as just the general apathy for spin-offs from the NSC community. I hope that we can see a time when people will regain their interest in spin-offs but I fear that we'll never regain the glory days again due to lack of desire/time from the NSC roster members. It was a trial trying to get interest for the last Congrats for example, and I know Sean has struggled with the registration for his current side contest as well

NSC Mod

Okay, I know that now isn't the best time for you to think about spinoffs (esc season, etc...), but still the question about the recurring spinoffs needs to be solved in order to create the ultimate scheme for spinoffs schedule.
So, to make everything easier for you, I decided to make quite a simple poll, where you need to just vote and post something optionally.
I'll invite everyone once again.

Well-known member

I'm not sure if I understand the poll options. Does #1 mean keeping things as they were or introducing your proposition? Does #3 mean abolishing certain spinoffs altogether or just having them as normal (that is, them happening if they get voted through)?

NSC Mod

I'm not sure if I understand the poll options. Does #1 mean keeping things as they were or introducing your proposition? Does #3 mean abolishing certain spinoffs altogether or just having them as normal (that is, them happening if they get voted through)?

Yes, these 3 spinoffs are officially recurring, so they will be hosted without connection to polls, after every 3 regular spinoffs, for example, but the frequency will be discussed, if this option wins.
And the last option means that these 3 spinoff themes will be chosen through a regular scheme (suggestions/polls) like all the others.

Well-known member

Voted finally to keep them as they are currently, but not overly bothered either way.

The important thing now is that we all group together as a community and put on the biggest and BEST NSC ESC spin-off ever! The chosen artist and songs from the 2020 season deserve a proper contest, and the NSC community can do that!

I'm talking semis (like a normal NSC contest) with PQs (Big 5 plus winner of 2019) based on the previous year's spin-off results. Also, split jury-televoting using the Waiting List and inviting back previous NSC nations (Juki ) to get the full effect.

We'd need to iron out rules such as whether we go with a more level playing field in terms of using studio versions of songs are going with the "official video" as submitted by the home broadcaster (even if that was the live NF performance).

Are you guys up for it? If a mod can tag the community in this thread, that would be awesome since I know it won't work for me. Let's all come together for this - might help reinvigorate the community's hunger for spin-offs overall again

NSC Mod

The important thing now is that we all group together as a community and put on the biggest and BEST NSC ESC spin-off ever! The chosen artist and songs from the 2020 season deserve a proper contest, and the NSC community can do that!

I'm talking semis (like a normal NSC contest) with PQs (Big 5 plus winner of 2019) based on the previous year's spin-off results. Also, split jury-televoting using the Waiting List and inviting back previous NSC nations (Juki ) to get the full effect.

We'd need to iron out rules such as whether we go with a more level playing field in terms of using studio versions of songs are going with the "official video" as submitted by the home broadcaster (even if that was the live NF performance).

Are you guys up for it? If a mod can tag the community in this thread, that would be awesome since I know it won't work for me. Let's all come together for this - might help reinvigorate the community's hunger for spin-offs overall again

Yes, I agree, I wrote something about this in the Chat Box yesterday. I don't think it's necessary to mass-mention the entire community at this point -- we still have a couple of months to go -- but when the time comes, we should certainly do everything we can to get all 41 countries represented by an NSC nation.

Not sure how the split jury/televoting would work. Waiting List nations are allowed to participate in NSC ESC (and should be encouraged to do so, in order to fill all 41 slots). Maybe if we fill all 41 slots and other people still want to participate, then they can play the role of the jury, i.e. just vote, without representing a country.

Also, I haven't taken part in NSC ESC in a while, but I believe we already have rules regarding the videos. As far as I know, the official videos must be used.